The Economic Development Committee was asked yesterday about lingering rumours that Guernsey would be inviting the British low-cost carrier into the island, to potentially to run a route to Luton.
It would not confirm, but did say that confidential talks had taken place with both EasyJet and Loganair about the island’s connectivity.
‘Economic Development is always seeking to have conversations with airlines, both new and our existing partners,’ said president Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller.
‘As we explore developing a new air policy framework, I think it would be more surprising if we were not having these conversations.’
The effects on Aurigny should the States look to subsidise a Luton service as well as Heathrow could amount to a negative impact amounting to some £10m., said its CEO Nico Bezuidenhout.
Speaking to the Guernsey Press in early November about the States looking to subsidise Heathrow, Mr Bezuidenhout said that the impact of this alone could amount to £4m. or £5m., assuming an increase in capacity of 30% in a year.
‘I stress that excludes whatever might or might not happen on Luton. Considering that the average airport in the UK has grown at 3% per year, if you add 30% capacity you are going to destabilise the market materially.’
He said that £4-5m. for disruption to London services caused by Heathrow competition was a ‘fairly conservative financial implication’.
‘And you can definitely more than double that if you now also add Luton into it.’ He said that such subsidies would also create uncertainty for the airline, which has already sold tickets through to next October. Mr Bezuidenhout said the airline would have to engage with its shareholder over the direction of its mandate in such a circumstance.
EasyJet has its operational headquarters at Luton and operates more than 927 routes in more than 34 countries.
Last year its headline profits climbed by more than a third to £602m.
